A campaign from Hungary's government evokes a meme, to hilarious effect

Yes, that's the same couple from the 'distracted boyfriend' meme

By
Orla McCaffrey.
Published on March 13, 2019.

Hungary's government took out billboards to encourage couples to have more children. Now the ad is going viral—because it's unintentionally hilarious.

The billboards show a happy couple locked in an embrace. If they look familiar, it's because they're the same pair made famous by the "distracted boyfriend" meme. In that viral stock photo shot by Antonio Guillem, the woman is outraged as her boyfriend looks at another woman. A photo of the billboard was picked up by local media and shared on social media.

The happy couple gracing the Hungarian government's campaign advertising its new family policy is already famous on the internet...and not for being madly in love. pic.twitter.com/wBljm6eiF7

Last month, the government of populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban said women who have at least four children would be exempt from any income tax. And women under 40 who marry for the first time will also be eligible for a $35,000 loan, which will be waived after the birth of a third child.

Orban, who was elected to a third term on a platform of "zero-tolerlance" for immigration last year, said the program is designed to "ensure the survival of the Hungarian nation."

A Hungarian software entrepreneur posted a photo of the government's ad to Facebook. He said his son had recognized the couple when they were driving to school in Zugló, a neighborhood in the northeast part of the city.